Improvement in devices for cutting butter in tubs



B. F. EVELETH & H. KRUEGER.

DEVICE FOR cv'rwnre BUTTER I-N' was.

No.185,8ZZ. Patented Jan. 2, 1877.

Z c/ z ETERs l RAERW the adjustable bent portion passing down into.series of parallel horizontal wires, by which NITED STATES BENJAMIN F.EVELETH AND HlilNRY KRUEGER, 013 BOSTON, MASS.

IMPROVEMENT IN DEVICES FOR CUTTING BUTTER IN TUBS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 185,822,

dated January 2, 1877; application filed November 17, 1876.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, BENJAMIN F. EVE- LETHand HENRY KRUEGER, both of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State ofMassachusetts, have invented a Device for Guttin g Butter in Tubs intoLayers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of thisspecification, in Which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of ourbuttercutting device. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section throughthe center of the same.

The ordinary method of cutting tub-butter into layers is by means of awire, provided with a handle at each end, which method is objectionablefor the following reasons: The tub must first be inverted so as to allowof the butter being detached therefrom, which operation is attended withconsiderable inconvenience, and the lump is liable to become broken orotherwise injured thereby, and the brine or pickle to be spilt andwasted, beside which, as the wire, when drawn through the lump, ismerely guided by the eye of the operator, it is quite difficult to cut alayer of uniform thickness throughout; furthermore, trouble and delayare experienced in fitting the tub in place over the butter when so cutinto layers.

To avoid the above-men tioned difficulties is the purpose of ourinvention, which consists in a device composed of a central verticalspindle provided with a handle and a socket for the reception of anadjustable bent portion, provided with a series of horizontal wires, andhaving one or both of its edges beveled 5 the center of the butter,while in the tub, being penetrated by the central or vertical spindle,which simultaneansly causes the wires to sink into or enter the butter,and

the tub in contact with its inner surface, so that the beveled edgemakes a path around the outside of the lump, carrying with it the meanseach layer is cut of an even and uniform thickness throughout, withoutthe inconvenience of .removing and replacing the tub, and without theliability of spilling and wasting the brine, 850., incident to themethod of cutting butter into layers, as heretofore.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand and use our invention,we will proceed to describe the manner in which we have carried it out.

In the said drawings, A represents a vertical central spindle of metal,provided with a handle, a, at its upper end by which it can be rotatedin either direction, the main portion of the spindle being tapered, andits lower end pointed, as shown. A short distance below the handle is arectangular opening forming a socket, b, for the reception of thehorizontal portion 0 of a bent arm, B, which slides therein, and is heldin place by a clamping screw, d. The other portion 0 of the bent arm Bis bent at, or nearly at, right angles to the horizontal portion 0, andis beveled off at one or both of its edges 5, the outer face of thisportion 0 being curved to avoid obstruction from any staves that mayproject inside of the tub. h h are wires, the outer ends of which arepermanently secured to the portion 0 at suitable distances apart, theinner ends of these wires sliding freely through holes formed in thecentral spindle A.

When it is desired to cut the butter within the tub into layers thepoint of the spindle is centered in the upper surface of the butter, andthe horizontal portion 0 of the bent arm B is slid out in its sockettill the lower end of the portion 6 comes into contact with the insideof the tub, when the horizontal portion a is securely held in place byturning the clamping-screw d, after which the central spindle A,together with the wires h, are pressed down into the butter, the portion6 being carried simultaneously down into contact with the inside of thetub, being made sufliciently flexible to adapt itself to the taper ofthe same. The opposite ends of the handle a are now grasped by theoperator and the device is rotated on the spindle as a center, the wirescutting through the body of the butter and dividing it into a series ofseparate and independent layers, each of which is of a uniform thicknessthroughout.

The cutting device may now be removed by drawing the wires up throughthe passage which they made in entering, or they may be drawn up throughthe butter at any other out the layers point, should it be desired tovertically into sections of any required size, the necessity of a knifefor this purpose being dispensed with.

The bent arm may he rigidly secured to the central spindle, if desired,but the device would then only be adapted for cutting butter containedin one and the same sized tubs, but we prefer to make it adjustable, asthereby a single instrument will answer for cutting butter contained intubs of different sizes.

What we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-- The central vertical spindle A, in combination with the bent arm B,and wires h, constructed to operate substantially in the manner and forthe purpose set forth.

Witness our hands this 9th day of November, A. D. 1876.

BENJ. F. EVELETH. HENRY KRUEGER.

In presence of-- N. W. STEARNS, P. E. TESOHEMAOHER.

